AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Gateway Arch goes dark until October to protect millions of migrating birds
Officials shut off all exterior lights on the 630-foot Gateway Arch in St. Louis this week to keep night-migrating birds from fatal collisions, a move that will leave the iconic monument in darkness until October 1. The lights-out order covers every exterior fixture on the stainless-steel landmark, removing a glow that federal wildlife authorities say […] The post Gateway Arch goes dark until October to protect millions of migrating birds appeared first on American Almanac .
Officials shut off all exterior lights on the 630-foot Gateway Arch in St. Louis this week to keep night-migrating birds from fatal collisions, a move that will leave the iconic monument in darkness until October 1. The lights-out order covers every exterior fixture on the stainless-steel landmark, removing a glow that federal wildlife authorities say can lure birds from miles away and send them circling until they crash into the structure or collapse from exhaustion. Gateway Arch officials confirmed the shutdown and set October 1 as the date the lights will return, timed to the tail end of the fall migration window. The decision reflects a straightforward tradeoff: a few weeks of a darker skyline against the documented risk of mass bird…Open